Hello Readers, my name is Wendy. I am a happily married mother of two young ladies. Together with my husband we are living an abundant life through growing some of our own vegetables and fruit, cooking and baking everything from scratch and being mindful of what we use and buy.
God has blessed us abundantly. We try to be good stewards of those blessings.

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Monday, 11 April 2016

Cutting The Budget When There's Nothing Left To Cut - Part 2

Cutting the family budget can be a challenge. Sometimes there's just nothing more to cut - or is there ???? Here are some budget busting tips that can save you small or large amounts of money. Combined, they could really make a difference to your hip pocket. I personally use all these tips in my everyday living.

* Dry your clothes on the line or clotheshorse. This might seem obvious but so many people tell me they still use the dryer for everything. I also know lots of people who dry their towels in the dryer to make them soft. An alternative it to partially dry the towels on the line and finish them in the dryer.

* Avoid buying bin liners. Use grocery bags, fruit bags and bread bags to line your bins. These bags are free and can save you a few dollars each month.

* Cut your gift giving budget. Do you need to give presents to your great aunts, aunties and uncles and other friends and family you don't see too often ? It's wonderful to bless others but not if you can't make ends meet. Maybe send a card instead..

* Put a timer in the shower and set it for 5 minutes. Play a game and see if you can beat the timer.

* Revise your grocery shopping list before you leave home. You might be amazed at how many items can wait for another week / fortnight or month.

* Make your own fish and chips at home for under $2 a serve. Crumbed fish can be bought quite cheaply and making chips is as simple as cutting potatoes into desired shapes and sprinkling with a little seasoning or olive oil. This could save a family of four $10 - $30 a meal.

* Give up renting dvds and dig into your own collection at home. Cook up some popcorn using the stove, microwave or popcorn maker and you'll have a wonderfully frugal night for about 50 cents.

* Instead of buying plants for your garden, take your own cuttings from what you have or ask family, friends and neighbours to take cuttings for you.

13 comments:

I only tumble towels if they are damp off the line but I do tumble our smalls. Five minutes in the shower is plenty of time to wash body top to toe and do hair. I hate when we have visitors and they have the shower running for 20 minutes! That's my rainwater!

Wendy, great tips as usual. On the fish and chips, I actually find it easier to buy inexpensive fish and crumb it myself, and buy the frozen chips. We all have our little ways and means don't we! Gift giving is a big one too, I agree. Learning how to make small gifts that look lavish is a wonderful skill. Things like scented candles and embroidered or monogrammed linen, falls into that category, and both are surprisingly easy. Have a good week! Mimi xxx

Dear Wendy, great post today, excellent in fact. Yes there are so many ways to cut back on costs and save money. Thank you for reminding me about DVDs , I don't hire DVDs at all but often look for entertainment and sometimes go out when a DVD and popcorn day would be just as good. Another one I do regularly is muffin or cake and cup of tea on my front patio which I know you love your homemade morning teas etc. saves about $8 a time per person. Much nicer at home too. I love the idea of using bread bags and supermarket bags in the bin, I currently buy large bin liners and they are expensive. I love finding new ways to save , thank you Wendy love Barb Woodford.

We only have a bath but hot water is timed for 5 minutes in winter and 4 in summer, prpbably fills the bath between 1/3 and 1/2 . We then share the water one after the other. If a drought is on it gets pumped outside using a small pond pump, left for a day then used around the garden except on vegetables.

Great tips! The library is also great for borrowing DVDs for free. We don't buy take away and instead do what I call a "fakeaway" night. Recently it was my 10 year olds birthday and he requested Chinese style honey chicken. It was delicious an I learned to make a new recipe!

Thanks for the great tips. Just got me thinking I have no grocery money left till next week had fish & chips on the menu but no money for fish. You got me thinking what to do? Hummm light blub moment-so now I will cook fish cakes with the tin of salmon I have in the pantry. Some times we need to think outside the box,and this will keep us on budget as well as not feeling deprived.

Great ideas all around! So much can be saved just by watching food and entertainment expenditures. I'll suggest playing board or card games as inexpensive ways to have fun and spend time together.Blessings, Leigh

I could not believe when I read that so many people use the dryer to dry all the clothes. I have never had a dryer and never will. I have been known to use the hairdryer if I need something in a hurry but other than that I go without that item of clothing if it is wet.

We do not hire out any movies what so ever. We do borrow from friends and they borrow from us or borrow from the library. No these may not be the latest releases but sometimes they are ones we have not seen or just want to see again.

A gift giving idea for an elderly relative or a great aunt or uncle that you want to give something to is to perhaps just spend a morning or afternoon with them (if you live close by). Sometimes this is all they really want.....company.....no fancy gift just plain old fashioned company. Take them to a park with a packed morning or afternoon tea if you really want a gift.

Today I relished the fact that I could finally turn off my air con for most of the day as the days are still hot and humid but reasonable enough to have the house open until late afternoon. This will save us heaps for a few months. The poor air con has not had much of a break since the beginning of Oct last year. No I can't cut costs here as it is way too hot.

Recently having lost some weight, friends and I have been having clothes swaps, something someone no longer wears they swap for something that someone else no longer wears before anything that is left is take to the op shop and we even do this with the kids clothes that are in good condition

All the little things add up, don't they? I am not being as frugal as normal right now, because we are moving. But, soon, I will get back on track. Even in my "bad" moments, I still find a lot of ways to save money because those things have become habit, which really helps at times like this when things are topsy-turvy.

Wendy, I realize I am months late with this comment, but I just now read this post. How about a post on saving money in the garden, starting with how to grow plants from cuttings (hey, you're the one that mentioned it). I let my flowers go to seed and see what comes up the next year. Also, I mostly have perennials, which I am endlessly digging up, dividing, replanting and giving away. But I never have gotten the hang of starting plants from cuttings, which I would like to do.